With Season 5 of Diablo 4 now available, spell-slinger players should know about the best Sorcerer builds for Season of the Infernal Hordes, whether it be for leveling, endgame, or PvP.
Sorcerers are one of the strongest character classes to choose this Season with their powerful arsenal of spells that can blast through waves of enemies. Despite often being glass cannons, Sorcerers have continued to be a reliable choice for a class with their fierce AoE spells.
There is a bevy of unique builds to choose from as a Sorcerer, whether you lean more into the fire, ice, or lightning skills. Although taken down a peg by the macabre Necromancer class this Season, Sorcerers can still pack a punch.
Blizzard does consistently update these classes so this information may change and shift throughout the Season of the Infernal Hordes and beyond.
Our tier list below will go into detail about the best leveling, endgame, and PvP builds for Sorcerer, as well as what each build has to offer and how they work.
Best Sorcerer leveling builds
| Tier | Build |
|---|---|
| S | Chain Lightning, Firewall |
| A | Ice Shards, Arc Lash |
| B | Fireball |
| C | Frozen Orb |
Best leveling build – Chain Lightning
Just like the previous Season, Chain Lightning has continued to reign supreme as the best Sorcerer leveling build in Diablo 4.
The build revolves around the Chain Lightning skill that strikes and bounces between you and your enemies. The focus on AoE damage and the high mobility will keep your Sorcerer out of harm’s way.
From level one to level 50, the Chain Lightning Sorcerer is a dependable and strong build to run for Season 5. Luckily, it also works well in the endgame if you fall in love with it and don’t want to change to another build.
Firewall is also a great leveling build, and the Aspects you’d want early on for it work well with the Fire Bolt build. Both options are strong, so pick whichever one looks more fun to you as you learn the class.
Best Sorcerer PvP builds
| Tier | Build |
|---|---|
| S | Fire Bolt, Chain Lightning |
| A | Firewall, Frozen Orb, Arc Lash |
| B | Fireball |
| C | Blizzard, Ball Lightning |
Best PvP build – Fire Bolt
If you’re looking to take on other players in the Fields of Hatred, the best Sorcerer PvP build for Season of the Infernal Hordes would have to be the Fire Bolt Sorcerer.
Arsonist players can apply high Burn damage to their victims using rapid shots of Fire Bolt, especially when used alongside the Firewall skill which was buffed heavily in the Season 5 patch notes.
Fire Bolt Sorcerers have good maneuverability with ranged combat, alongside the Teleport skill which can get them away from another player if needed. Chain Lightning is also a strong choice, but it’s a bit less reliable and has less zoning tools with it lacking that Firewall.
Best Sorcerer endgame builds
| Tier | Build |
|---|---|
| S | Fireball, Chain Lightning, Fire Bolt |
| A | Ball Lightning, Frozen Orb, Blizzard |
| B | Firewall |
| C | Arc Lash |
Best endgame build – Fireball
During the endgame of Season of the Infernal Hordes, the best Sorcerer build to try out is the Fireball Sorcerer.
This build has strong defense, but also allows your Sorcerer to quickly annihilate groups of enemies. Your enemies will burn to the ground before you can even blink.
Skills such as Flame Shield and Ice Armor make this Sorcerer less susceptible to damage in the dangerous Nightmare Dungeons, and they also have Frost Nova to render enemies Vulnerable for extra damage.
Fireball’s at the top, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only S-Tier Sorc build. Chain Lightning and Fire Bolt can both deal a ton of damage, but both builds have some significant caveats.
Chain Lightning requires you to get up close and personal with bosses since you don’t have much to chain off of, making the build a bit more volatile when it comes to taking down big bosses. You’ll really have to stay on your toes.
Meanwhile, Fire Bolt is heavily reliant on Flame Wall. This is good for PvP, but not so great for getting through content quickly. The need to stay rooted in a certain spot makes this build’s clear times inherently slower and a bit weaker for high-tier Pit runs.
All in all, Season 5 didn’t alter the Sorcerer class too much, but the good news is that the majority of balance changes buffed Sorcerer skills to make them a superior class.
Our tiers explained
- S: The best
- A: Very good
- B: There might be situations where these can perform well
- C: Best to avoid unless you find yourself drawn to them
Below, you’ll find an explanation of all the Sorcerer builds and why we’ve ranked them where we have.
All Sorcerer class rankings in Diablo 4 Season 5 explained
Chain Lightning Sorcerer
The Chain Lightning Sorcerer has continued to be an incredible build for this class, whether you’re in leveling, endgame, or PvP.
As a leveling build, Chain Lightning deals impressive AoE damage, while the Basic Skill Arc Lash focuses on enemies in melee range. In PvP, this build excels in mobility and single-target damage, while the endgame build provides you with great defense.
Season of the Infernal Hordes buffed a bevy of skills used by this build, such as Greater Chain Lightning (now deals 10% increased damage with each bounce, up to 30%) and Teleport (base damage went from 25% to 35%).
For a breakdown of how to make a Chain Lightning Sorcerer build for yourself, check out our guide.
Fire Bolt Sorcerer
Any Fire Bolt Sorcerer will know just how powerful this build can be during the endgame and Fields of Hatred, but not so much during the leveling phase.
Fire Bolt Sorcerers place their Firewalls between them and the enemy while shooting Fire Bolts through the fiery barrier. This allows them to keep their distance from enemies and deal significant single-target damage.
This run-and-gun playstyle is perfect for players who want a balance of survivability, mobility, and high DPS. It’s a simple build to put together for newcomers, but it also provides fun gameplay for veterans.
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Lightning Spear Sorcerer
The Lightning Spear Sorcerer is uniquely designed around endgame play, especially with the new reworked Aspect of Splintering Energy this Season.
This Aspect now allows critical hits with Lightning Spear to arc the Lightning, causing an extra 25-55% damage to the target and up to five other enemies. During the late game, this can make Lightning Spear especially damaging to enemies.
Lightning Spear Sorcerers have amazing defensive abilities such as Ice Armor and Flame Shield, and the Unstable Current Ultimate is great to have as it allows for a random Core, Conjuration, or Mastery skill to cast anytime a Shock skill is inflicted.
Firewall Sorcerer
While the Firewall Sorcerer provides players with powerful leveling gameplay, it’s less likely to be useful in PvP or endgame.
Despite this, Blizzard buffed Firewall in Season 5 to deal 230% damage instead of 160%. Players can also make use of the helpful Hydra skill, which can then grant you Summoned Hydra to apply extra Burn damage.
Firewall Sorcerers are incredible with early-game AoE damage using the Inferno Ultimate to burn any enemy in their way. This build can bring your Sorcerer to the endgame in no time.
For a breakdown of how to make a Firewall Sorcerer build for yourself, check out our guide.
Fireball Sorcerer
Fireball Sorcerers are great during the endgame, and less-so for leveling and PvP. It grants players plenty of defensive options, while not skimping out on impressive DPS with burning damage over time.
Flame Shield and Ice Armor allow your Sorcerer to be tanky during Nightmare Dungeons, but they should still be careful as the endgame activities can provide difficult combat encounters for all classes.
These Sorcerers should focus on dealing damage to groups of enemies over isolated foes, but in the case of an emergency, they still have the Teleport skill to pull themselves out of an enemy’s reach.
For a breakdown of how to make a Fireball Sorcerer build for yourself, check out our guide.
Arc Lash Sorcerer
While less effective during the endgame, Arc Lash Sorcerers are a great pick for players who want to shine in the PvP Fields of Hatred, as well as the leveling phase.
These Sorcerers inflict impressive close-encounter damage with the Basic Skill Arc Lash while having other Shock skills like Lightning Spear and Unstable Currents to back them up.
Season 5 granted this build an extra boost with the changes to Flickering Arc Lash. Now players can gain five Mana after swiping one enemy, dealing 50% damage if they hit more than three enemies or a boss. This build continues to stay on top for the early game.
Frozen Orb Sorcerer
With less of an impact during the leveling phase, the Frozen Orb Sorcerer excels in PvP and endgame with its spectacular defense capabilities and damage output.
Like most builds here, the Frozen Orb Sorcerer can dish out massive AoE damage with Frozen Orbs that Chill enemies and make them Vulnerable. They have no problem running through Nightmare Dungeons, Helltides, and other endgame activities.
These Sorcerers serve even better this Season as the Frozen Orb damage increased from 41% to 50%, and its shard damage improved from 43% to 52%. This is an excellent choice for players who want to feel unstoppable in the late game.
Check out our guide on how to build the best Frozen Orb Sorcerer builds in Diablo 4.
Blizzard Sorcerer
Finally, the Blizzard Sorcerer is a build that only really comes into play for endgame players, and doesn’t provide much for PvP or leveling.
This build centers around the Blizzard Mastery which inflicts a massive amount of AoE damage to enemies, especially since it was buffed to deal 210% damage instead of 130%.
We recommend any Blizzard Sorcerer to get the Glacial Aspect, or else this build doesn’t work well. This Aspect will periodically spawn Ice Shards after casting Blizzard which can Chill enemies. Blizzard Sorcerers focus on inflicting this status effect for improved damage numbers.
Ball Lightning Sorcerer
Ball Lightning is one of the more effective endgame mobbing builds, though that’s about all it’s good for.
The slow-moving orbs this build centers around are both its greatest strength and its biggest flaw, as they don’t function well in PvP and require a lot of effort to properly put together. If you’ve got the right build, though? You’ll take out mobs at record pace.
Just be mindful of your mana here, and be aware that this build requires a big commitment when it comes to farming certain Aspects.
For a breakdown of how to make a Ball Lightning Sorcerer build for yourself, check out our guide.
Now that you’re familiar with the best Sorcerer builds in Season 5 of Diablo 4, you should also check out the best Necromancer, Rogue, Druid, and Barbarian builds.
